“To this day I don’t know if I’ll return”: Kuznetsova keeps the door open to a tennis return after 5 years

Two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has been away from professional tennis since June 2021 – although she has still not officially retired, as she explained in a recent interview with Punto de Break. The former world No. 2 has gone almost five years without playing a tournament – and although she acknowledges that her return is becoming increasingly unlikely – she still does not rule it out entirely, assuming that there is still a possibility of a comeback.

While 45-year-old Venus Williams continues doing her thing on the courts, and a potential return by Serena Williams, now 44, is being speculated about, the Russian Kuznetsova – currently 40 years old – could be another veteran we might still see competing professionally.

Despite the fact that her last appearance came at Wimbledon 2021 (a first-round loss), Kuznetsova explained why she never announced her retirement. “I simply didn’t do it, people ask me about it a lot. I didn’t want to announce my retirement because, honestly, I didn’t know whether I would come back later on,” commented the former world No. 2 in the interview. “In fact, to this day I don’t know if I’ll return. At that moment I didn’t know whether I would get tired of my other life; right now we have Venus Williams playing at 45 years old. What if injuries respected me? What if I felt like trying again?”

The champion of 18 professional titles did not completely rule out a return – even five years after her last appearance. “I wasn’t sure, that’s why I didn’t say goodbye. I preferred to leave it open in case later on I felt like coming back,” mentioned Kuznetsova, who acknowledged that there is still a possibility of a return. “Yes, but it’s very small, smaller every year. I do think about having a farewell, for example, but it would have to be something nice.”

The former world No. 2 was even nominated this year for the Hall of Fame – alongside Roger Federer and Juan Martín del Potro – although in the end only the Swiss Maestro was inducted into the legends class. “It came unexpectedly, I was very happy. Then they called me and told me I hadn’t been selected, but the sadness lasted about ten minutes,” commented Kuznetsova. “Life goes on, tennis has been and still is a huge part of my life; everything I have now is thanks to the effort and dedication I put in on court.”

In any case, the Russian continues training on tennis courts, something that is not very common among former players – who usually take advantage of retirement to take a definitive break from the tennis courts. That is not the case for Kuznetsova, who sees the benefits of continuing to practise tennis in her daily life – even without clear intentions of returning.

“I’ve always liked taking care of myself. (Elena) Dementieva used to ask me back then: why do you train so much? I like feeling good, I need it, it helps me in my day-to-day life. Right now the question is whether my body would allow me to compete again, but I doubt it […] For example, I injured my hamstring skating some time ago, I also have a lot of pain in my knee, I don’t know to what extent it would be worth forcing my body for a comeback. But I don’t really think about it, to be honest.”

Although Kuznetsova is away from the Tour, she has continued following the development of tennis over recent years, commenting and travelling several times to the biggest tournaments. “I have a Telegram channel in Russia and I’m very connected to the circuit and its stories. There I follow the results, share my opinions and talk about things from my tennis career,” commented the Russian, a two-time WTA 1000 champion. “I’ve also travelled to some Grand Slam finals in recent years, although many of them I’ve commented on from here.”

Kuznetsova was asked about the difference between today’s tennis and that of a decade ago, and whether she believes the current level is better than during her years on Tour. “When I was playing I never watched tennis, because when I saw them on television they all seemed incredible to me, I thought it was impossible to beat them,” she said. “Then on court it was different; there I could play with them. Now everything is much more physical, Sabalenka and Rybakina are very strong, but I’d like to see tennis with less power and a bit more touch, not just strength. I’d like to see more variety, but of course, what can you do against Aryna’s power?”

Kuznetsova stood out in her own career for a strong serve and a solid baseline game, with a lot of variety in her shots and especially heavy topspin on her forehand. When asked whether she sees any current player with a similar style to hers, the Russian hesitated, but eventually chose one of the most versatile players on tour today. “Maybe Karolina Muchova has something, although she has a different structure. She’s much taller, with long arms and she serves much better. She plays much flatter than I did.”